Committee to Protect Journalists - Cubatag:cpj.org,2008-09-16://12016-10-18T18:01:28ZMovable Type Pro 6.1.1Cuban journalists detained while covering hurricane damagetag:cpj.org,2016://1.271712016-10-18T17:59:10Z2016-10-18T18:01:28ZCuban state security officers on October 11 briefly detained Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, one of Cuba's most prominent independent journalists, along with five of her colleagues from Periodismo de Barrio (Neighborhood News) and two freelancers working with them, while the team attempted to report on storm damage caused by Hurricane Matthew...Committee to Protect Journalists
Cuban state security officers on October 11 briefly detained Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, one of Cuba's most prominent independent journalists, along with five of her colleagues from Periodismo de Barrio (Neighborhood News) and two freelancers working with them, while the team attempted to report on storm damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in northeastern Cuba Periodismo de Barrio reported.]]>
Connecting Cubatag:cpj.org,2016:/reports//15.271052016-09-28T13:00:01Z2016-09-28T13:27:36ZRecommendations The Committee to Protect Journalists offers the following recommendations:...Committee to Protect JournalistsRecommendations

The Committee to Protect Journalists offers the following recommendations:

]]>
Connecting Cubatag:cpj.org,2016:/reports//15.271042016-09-28T13:00:01Z2016-09-28T13:26:50ZStaying connected in an offline world By Alexandra Ellerbeck For Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, founder of Periodismo de Barrio, internet access in poorly connected Cuba comes at a premium. “Our reporters have less than 10 hours a month of internet access,” she told CPJ during the Latin American Studies Association conference...Committee to Protect JournalistsStaying connected in an offline world

By Alexandra Ellerbeck

For Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, founder of Periodismo de Barrio, internet access in poorly connected Cuba comes at a premium. “Our reporters have less than 10 hours a month of internet access,” she told CPJ during the Latin American Studies Association conference in New York, where she was taking advantage of the hotel Wi-Fi. “Between midnight and 3 a.m. every night, I download information off the internet. It’s already part of the professional culture to bring a flash drive back to Cuba.”

]]>
Connecting Cubatag:cpj.org,2016:/reports//15.271032016-09-28T13:00:01Z2016-09-29T17:32:08ZCuba’s evolving news agenda At the Argos Theatre in Havana, Yenys Laura Prieto Velazco purchased a ticket for Diez Millones, a popular play about a Cuban family torn apart by the ideological fanaticism of the Cuban revolution and by the father’s departure to the U.S. during the 1980 Mariel boatlift....Committee to Protect JournalistsCuba’s evolving news agenda

At the Argos Theatre in Havana, Yenys Laura Prieto Velazco purchased a ticket for Diez Millones, a popular play about a Cuban family torn apart by the ideological fanaticism of the Cuban revolution and by the father’s departure to the U.S. during the 1980 Mariel boatlift.

A lively blogosphere, an increasing number of news websites carrying investigative reporting and news commentary, and an innovative breed of independent reporters who are critical of, yet still support socialist ideas have vitally transformed Cuba’s media landscape in the past five years.

]]>
Connecting Cubatag:cpj.org,2016:/reports//15.271012016-09-28T13:00:01Z2016-09-28T13:24:32ZForeword: Contemplating a free press in Cuba By Ernesto Londoño A free press, at its best, is the conscience of a nation, an indispensable arbiter of truth and righteousness. When it is doing its job well, a free press unearths unpleasant truths, holds people in power accountable and champions marginalized...Committee to Protect JournalistsForeword: Contemplating a free press in Cuba

By Ernesto Londoño

A free press, at its best, is the conscience of a nation, an indispensable arbiter of truth and righteousness. When it is doing its job well, a free press unearths unpleasant truths, holds people in power accountable and champions marginalized communities.

]]>
Connecting Cubatag:cpj.org,2016:/reports//15.271002016-09-28T13:00:01Z2016-09-28T13:23:47ZAbout this report...Committee to Protect Journalists
About this report
]]>
Connecting Cuba: More space for criticism but restrictions slow press freedom progresstag:cpj.org,2016:/reports//15.270812016-09-28T13:00:01Z2016-09-28T20:55:10ZCuba’s press, emboldened by President Raúl Castro’s call for reforms in 2010, are finding more space for critical comment, but harassment and intimidation from authorities, a legal limbo caused by outdated and restrictive press laws, and limited and expensive access to the internet is slowing the island nation’s progress toward...Committee to Protect JournalistsCuba’s press, emboldened by President Raúl Castro’s call for reforms in 2010, are finding more space for critical comment, but harassment and intimidation from authorities, a legal limbo caused by outdated and restrictive press laws, and limited and expensive access to the internet is slowing the island nation’s progress toward press freedom. A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists]]>
CPJ Newsletter: Exhibit of jailed photographer's work moves to Photoville, journalist released from jail, and we join our partners at the UNtag:cpj.org,2016://1.270982016-09-21T19:21:01Z2016-09-27T16:31:05ZOctober edition Next stop for exhibit of Shawkan's work: Photoville In mid-September, CPJ partnered with the Bronx Documentary Center to hold an exhibition of photographs taken by Mahmoud Abou Zeid, or Shawkan, a freelance journalist who has been imprisoned in Egypt since August 2013. Many of Shawkan's photos--from protests and...Committee to Protect Journalists
October edition

Next stop for exhibit of Shawkan's work: Photoville

In mid-September, CPJ partnered with the Bronx Documentary Center to hold an exhibition of photographs taken by Mahmoud Abou Zeid, or Shawkan, a freelance journalist who has been imprisoned in Egypt since August 2013. Many of Shawkan's photos--from protests and celebrations in Tahrir Square to daily life in Cairo--were taken during the Egyptian revolution.

]]>
Cuban blogger jailed for five days after trying to cover protesttag:cpj.org,2016://1.265682016-03-25T16:13:57Z2016-03-25T16:20:44ZAn independent Cuban blogger and activist was held in police custody for five days after attempting to cover a protest by the prominent dissident group, Ladies in White, according to press reports. Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca told CPJ he was apprehended by a group of men in the Miramar neighborhood...Committee to Protect Journalists
An independent Cuban blogger and activist was held in police custody for five days after attempting to cover a protest by the prominent dissident group, Ladies in White, according to press reports. Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca told CPJ he was apprehended by a group of men in the Miramar neighborhood of Havana, on March 20, 2016, who beat him with their fists, handcuffed him, and took him to a police station.]]>
Blog: As US-Cuba relations thaw, what's next for the island's independent press?tag:cpj.org,2016:/blog//8.265242016-03-16T19:57:48Z2016-03-17T17:18:32Z "Our hope is that President Obama will meet journalists working for the alternative media, not just to cover his visit, but to start a dialogue," said Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, director of Periodismo de Barrio (Neighborhood Journalism) a website focusing on climate change and the impact of natural disasters on... and Americas Senior Program coordinator]]>

"Our hope is that President Obama will meet journalists working for the alternative media, not just to cover his visit, but to start a dialogue," said Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, director of Periodismo de Barrio (Neighborhood Journalism) a website focusing on climate change and the impact of natural disasters on local communities. Díaz, who last year became the first Cuban journalist to receive a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University, said such an encounter with Obama would validate journalism in the island nation. "It won't resolve our problems, but it will boost our legitimacy and reduce our vulnerabilities," she told CPJ on the phone from Havana.

]]>
CPJ Newsletter: A year in reviewtag:cpj.org,2015://1.262872015-12-26T13:30:18Z2015-12-26T13:45:40ZOver the past year, CPJ has documented anti-press violations all over the world, cases of journalists killed, imprisoned, abducted, or threatened in relation to their work. You can see all of our coverage at our website, www.cpj.org. But here at CPJ Impact we also highlight those times when CPJ has...Committee to Protect Journalists
Over the past year, CPJ has documented anti-press violations all over the world, cases of journalists killed,imprisoned,abducted, orthreatened in relation to their work. You can see all of our coverage at our website, www.cpj.org.

But here at CPJ Impact we also highlight those times when CPJ has stepped in and advocated for journalists under threat. This year, we made some vital gains in our fight to protect journalists and press freedom.

We know we couldn't have done this without your support. Please continue to join us in our important work.

]]>
Blog: Inter-American Human Rights System, campaigns against defamation laws keep journalists from jail in Americastag:cpj.org,2015:/blog//8.262382015-12-15T05:01:14Z2016-02-23T22:19:00ZWhen a prison guard told Ángel Santiesteban Prats that he would be released from jail on a scorching summer day in July, the Cuban independent writer and blogger decided to ignore him, brushing off the news as a cruel joke. By then, Santiesteban had already spent two years and five...Alexandra Ellerbeck/CPJ Americas Research Associate
When a prison guard told Ángel Santiesteban Prats that he would be released from jail on a scorching summer day in July, the Cuban independent writer and blogger decided to ignore him, brushing off the news as a cruel joke. By then, Santiesteban had already spent two years and five months in prison, half of his five-year sentence, on trumped-up charges of domestic abuse. But Santiesteban, who had been jailed in reprisal for the critical blog Los Hijos que Nadie Quiso (The Children Nobody Wanted), was unexpectedly paroled a few hours later.]]>
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, April 2015tag:cpj.org,2015://1.246442015-05-07T20:24:14Z2015-05-08T17:10:04ZCPJ launches annual publication Attacks on the Press At a U.N. press conference on April 27 to launch CPJ's annual publication Attacks on the Press, CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon called on the U.N. Security Council to include in its May 27 debate on Journalist Safety a warning to states...Committee to Protect JournalistsCPJ launches annual publication Attacks on the Press

At a U.N. press conference on April 27 to launch CPJ's annual publication Attacks on the Press, CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon called on the U.N. Security Council to include in its May 27 debate on Journalist Safety a warning to states that they should not use national security as an excuse to jail, harass, or censor journalists.

The last three years have been the most deadly for the press, according to CPJ research. One of the reasons is the developing "terror dynamic"--non-state actors targeting journalists with violence while governments restrict civil liberties and press freedom in response. This phenomenon was amply documented in essays published in this year's edition of Attacks on the Press.

The book, which emphasizes reporting and analysis by CPJ staff and outside experts, features essays on multiple threats facing the press: the conflict in Syria, where freelancers and local journalists must adapt to an environment in which they are targets; terror and criminal groups, in countries as Syria, Nigeria, and Mexico, which document their own atrocities and disseminate them through social media; and crackdowns on the press in Ethiopia and Egypt, where governments use the threat of terror to justify repression. Several essays in the book also look at the impact of surveillance in more democratic societies, including those in Europe. The book also includes CPJ's list of the 10 Most Censored Countries.

The print edition of Attacks on the Press is published by Bloomberg Press, an imprint of Wiley, and is available for purchase.

]]>
Journalists overcome obstacles through crowdfunding and determinationtag:cpj.org,2015://1.245352015-04-27T15:01:32Z2015-04-27T14:12:25Z During South Africa's Boer War, at the turn of the 20th century, a determined news organization relocated reporters, copy editors, and printing presses to the front line to ensure accurate reporting. In the Warsaw Ghetto, during World War II, a literal underground press, established to counter Nazi propaganda, required...Jessica Jerreat

During South Africa's Boer War, at the turn of the 20th century, a determined news organization relocated reporters, copy editors, and printing presses to the front line to ensure accurate reporting. In the Warsaw Ghetto, during World War II, a literal underground press, established to counter Nazi propaganda, required the nightly movement of cumbersome printing equipment to evade capture.

]]>
10 Most Censored Countriestag:cpj.org,2015://1.245582015-04-21T14:00:05Z2015-05-16T18:44:52ZEritrea and North Korea are the first and second most censored countries worldwide, according to a list compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists of the 10 countries where the press is most restricted. The list is based on research into the use of tactics ranging from imprisonment and repressive...Committee to Protect Journalists
Eritrea and North Korea are the first and second most censored countries worldwide, according to a list compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists of the 10 countries where the press is most restricted. The list is based on research into the use of tactics ranging from imprisonment and repressive laws to harassment of journalists and restrictions on Internet access.]]>
Blog: In Cuba, case for harassing press has collapsed tag:cpj.org,2014:/blog//8.241682014-12-22T17:06:02Z2016-04-25T19:17:11Z Throughout the years, the Cuban government has justified the imprisonment of independent journalists on charges that they were acting against the State's sovereignty at the behest of the United States. During the so-called Black Spring in March 2003, when the government then led by President Fidel Castro launched a...Carlos Lauría/Senior Americas Program Coordinator

Throughout the years, the Cuban government has justified the imprisonment of independent journalists on charges that they were acting against the State's sovereignty at the behest of the United States. During the so-called Black Spring in March 2003, when the government then led by President Fidel Castro launched a massive crackdown against dissidents while the world's attention was focused on the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a total of 29 independent journalists were sentenced to prison terms of up to 27 years. During court proceedings, it became an established fact that those journalists were charged with destabilizing the nation because of their work for foreign media outlets. They were punished for being "mercenaries" at the service of a foreign power (namely, the United States).

]]>
China is world's worst jailer of the press; global tally second worst on recordtag:cpj.org,2014:/reports//15.241352014-12-17T05:01:58Z2015-01-06T14:14:34ZMore than 200 journalists are imprisoned for their work for the third consecutive year, reflecting a global surge in authoritarianism. China is the world’s worst jailer of journalists in 2014. A CPJ special report by Shazdeh Omari...Committee to Protect Journalists
More than 200 journalists are imprisoned for their work for the third consecutive year, reflecting a global surge in authoritarianism. China is the world’s worst jailer of journalists in 2014. A CPJ special report by Shazdeh Omari

]]>
CPJ welcomes release of Juliet Michelena Díaz in Cubatag:cpj.org,2014://1.240552014-11-07T21:46:07Z2014-11-08T00:02:42ZNew York, November 7, 2014--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release today in Cuba of Juliet Michelena Díaz, who had been imprisoned since April after photographing a police operation in Havana....Committee to Protect Journalists
New York, November 7, 2014--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release today in Cuba of Juliet Michelena Díaz, who had been imprisoned since April after photographing a police operation in Havana.]]>
Blog: Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez launches independent news sitetag:cpj.org,2014:/blog//8.232612014-05-22T19:55:06Z2014-06-15T02:57:33ZTed Henken/CPJ Guest Blogger

Late last October, as I accompanied Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez in a cab
ride from LaGuardia Airport to her hotel in Manhattan, we talked nonstop about
what had changed in Cuba during 2013 and about her plans for 2014. Two things
she told me then were particularly striking.